Difference Between APT and DPKG in Ubuntu
The installation, updating, and removal of software are all important functions in the Ubuntu operating system and heavily rely on package management. Two common tools used to manage packages include APT and DPKG, which stands for Debian Package. DPKG is considered the low-level package manager because it makes direct installations and removals of .deb files. Therefore it does not perform dependency resolution, instead waiting for the user to install the dependent packages.
On the other hand, APT is a high package management. It makes work easy as it automatically deals with dependencies and offers a user-friendly interface compared to the DPKG. APT can retrieve packages from online repositories, which will easily install the software while all the requirements for installing the needed software are met. Proper understanding of the differences between the two as indicated in APT and DPKG ensures proper management of the software in Ubuntu and Debian-based systems.
What is APT?
APT (Advanced Package Tool) is a free software user interface for Debian and Debian-based Linux distributions that interacts with core libraries to handle program installation and removal. APT is a package that contains a set of utilities called apt. A large component of APT is specified in a C++ function library; APT also contains command-line applications for interacting with packages that utilize the library. Apt, apt-get, and apt-cache are three such applications. Because they are easy and common, they are frequently used in examples.
In all current Debian versions, the apt package has "important" priority and is thus included in a basic Debian installation. APT is a front-end to dpkg that is more user-friendly than the earlier select front-end. While dpkg handles individual package activities, APT handles package relationships (particularly dependencies), as well as the sourcing and administration of higher-level versioning choices (release tracking and version pinning).
APT is frequently praised as one of Debian's greatest features, which Debian's developer's credit to the policy's tight quality standards. The method APT calls dpkg is one of its most notable features: it performs topological sorting of the list of packages to be installed or uninstalled before calling dpkg in the best possible order. It uses the --force options of dpkg in several circumstances. It only does this if it can't figure out how to avoid the reason dpkg requires the action to be forced.
What is DPKG?
The package management system of the free operating system Debian and its many variations is based on the program DPKG. DPKG is a command that may be used to install, uninstall, and display information about .deb packages. dpkg (Debian Package) is a low-level utility in and of itself. APT (Advanced Package Program), a higher-level tool, is more popular than dpkg because it can retrieve packages from distant places and handle complicated package relationships, such as dependency resolution. APT frontends such as aptitude (ncurses) and synaptic (GTK) are utilized because of their more user-friendly interfaces.
Dpkg-deb, dpkg-split, dpkg-query, dpkg-statoverride, dpkg-divert, and dpkg-trigger are all included in the Debian package "dpkg." Programs like update-alternatives and start-stop-daemon are also included. The install-info software was formerly included, but it was subsequently removed since it is now developed and released independently. The various build tools detailed below are included in the Debian package "dpkg-dev."
Difference Between APT and DPKG
Feature | APT (Advanced Package Tool) | DPKG (Debian Package Manager) |
|---|---|---|
Purpose | High-level package management tool. | Low-level package management tool. |
Functionality | Can manage package installation, upgrades, dependency resolution, and repository management. | Installs, uninstalls, and manages individual Debian packages. |
Dependency Handling | Automatically resolves and installs package dependencies. | Does not handle dependencies; requires manual installation of dependencies. |
Source | Fetches packages from online repositories (via the internet). | Installs packages from local .deb files. |
Repository Management | Can manage multiple repositories, add/remove repositories easily. | No repository management; operates on local .deb packages only. |
Command Examples | apt install package_name,
apt update, apt upgrade | dpkg -i package_name.deb,
dpkg -r package_name |
Cache Management | Maintains a local cache of available packages from repositories (apt-cache). | No cache management for package listings. |
Ease of Use | User-friendly, with simplified syntax and higher abstraction for managing packages. | Requires more manual intervention, particularly for dependencies. |
Automatic Updates | Supports automatic updates and upgrades with simple commands (apt upgrade). | No built-in support for automatic updates. |
Interaction Level | Typically used by end-users for package management. | Typically used by system administrators or for specific package operations. |
Log Files | Keeps logs in /var/log/apt/. | Keeps logs in /var/log/dpkg.log. |
Uninstalling Packages | Automatically handles dependency removal (apt autoremove). | Does not manage dependencies during uninstallation. |
Conclusion
Both APT and DPKG are pretty important in package management, but in different respects. APT is at the higher level, taking responsibility for dependency resolution, repository management, and other daily package management related tasks, whereas DPKG is more at the low-level, going ahead to install .deb packages, yet it has finer control but manual handling of dependencies. APT is easier to use for regular users, but DPKG has applications in slightly more special or advanced package management scenarios.
